1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hair coloring tool, and more particularly, a hair highlighting applicator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous innovations for hair treatment devices have been provided in the prior art that will be described. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, however, they differ from the present invention.
A FIRST EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,447, Issued on Nov. 11, 1969, to Eldridge teaches an applicator for depositing and distributing various liquids on the scalp at the base of the hair. A screw cap, adapted for attachment to a plastic bottle, is fitted with a distributor head carrying a plurality of stiffly flexible liquid-supply nozzles. Liquid is fed to the nozzles adapted for conform at their tips to scalp contour through a manifold passage which is located in the distributor head and which communicates with the bottle through the screw cap.
A SECOND EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,512, Issued on Oct. 19, 1982, to Reppatte Jr. teaches a liquid applicator device, useful in applying bleaching or coloring compositions or the like to the hair in the course of cosmetically treating same. The device comprises a compressible container for receiving the composition; a cap closure being removably secured to the top of the container and including an opening therethrough for feeding the composition upon manual compression of the container. Brush means, including liquid distribution means, extend from the cap and are in communication with the cap opening to enable feed of the composition to the brush. A hair-parting wand extends from the cap at an angle diverging from the direction of extension of the brush, whereby a user of the device may employ the wand to part and separate the hair and thereupon utilize the brush to apply the treating composition.
A THIRD EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,591, Issued on May 14, 1985, to Hierholzer teaches an applicator that applies a hair treating material to the surface of less than all of an individual's hair. The applicator comprises a material supply container and a dispenser including a comb structure having a plurality of teeth pairs in which some of the pairs have shallow roots therebetween and some have deep roots. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, passages are provided in the dispensing comb structure to deliver the treating material through at least some of the shallow roots in order to apply the material to less than all of the hair of the individual.
A FOURTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,439, Issued on Mar. 21, 1989, to Morgan teaches a hair treatment solution applicator adapted to be attached to the mouth of a squeeze bottle containing the hair treatment solution by an attachment element having a dispensing valve therein. An applicator portion, in the form of a substantially flat or planar element lying in the plane of the squeeze bottle axis, is secured to the attachment element and is provided with a comb-like distributor element at its side remote from the attachment element. The planar applicator element is provided with a slot at the side which includes the distributor element which communicates with the dispensing valve. Substantially adjacent the comb-like distributor element, there is arranged an elongated spike-like, hair-sectioning pick extending perpendicular to the axis of the squeeze bottle in the plane defined by the applicator portion.
A FIFTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,305, Issued on Oct. 6, 1992, to Niv teaches an apparatus for a hair dye applicator which includes a hollow tubular housing with screw-threadably removable caps on both longitudinal ends thereof. One of the caps includes a centrally located outlet through which a hollow stem of an integrally formed nozzle unit is fitted. A manually actuable piston is provided within the tubular housing and includes an actuator member longitudinally slidable along the length of and external to the tubular housing. To ensure that the piston does not axially rotate within the tubular housing during a longitudinal sliding motion thereof, a protruding track is longitudinally provided on the inner wall of the tubular housing and mates with a corresponding recess of the piston. A liner such as a disposable plastic bag is provided within the tubular housing above the piston for receiving a hair dispensable product therein. The screw-threaded end caps confine the contents of the applicator during use thereof.
A SIXTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,627, Issued on Aug. 2, 1994, to Mehringer et al. teaches a container that contains fluid to be applied to human hair. A plunger is movably mounted in the container and moves the fluid towards a dispenser end of the housing. An expulsion base is mounted on the dispenser end of the housing. This expulsion base defines a plurality of container channels. A removable dispenser head is mounted on the expulsion base and the dispenser then defines a plurality of head channels. These head channels are substantially aligned with the container channels at one end of the dispenser head. The head channels are distributed along another end of the dispenser head. A spreading device is positioned at the another end of the dispenser head and receives fluid from the dispenser head and spreads out the fluid on the hair.
A SEVENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,637, Issued on Mar. 19, 1996, to Foti teaches an improved applicator brush that provides a tapered handle portion for lifting and separating hair, and a plurality of bristles emanating perpendicularly therefrom. In one embodiment, the brush is formed by connecting a conventional applicator brush through a bore in a tapered handle in order to form the perpendicular connection.
AN EIGHTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,648, Issued on Jun. 11, 1996, to Colon et al. teaches a combined brush and comb (“brush-comb”) which is used to apply tones, touches or streaks of hair treatment liquid to human hair. The brush-comb has a curved body portion terminating in a tip, which may be used to part the hair, and a head portion having comb tines and brush tufts positioned close to the tines. Each tine has at least one and preferably a plurality of grooves perpendicular to its axis to retain the liquid and to replenish the liquid to the brush tufts. In operation, the brush-comb head portion is dipped into a container of the liquid and then the head portion is pulled through the hair to apply touches of the liquid to selected areas of the hair.
A NINTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,230, Issued on May 16, 2000, to Kajgana teaches a tint brush with a color distributor having an anatomically designed container which has an elliptical shape and is screwed onto a connection pipe with a main tinter body. The container and connection pipe are inclined relative to a vertical axis of the main tinter body, preferably, by 60 degrees. A free flow of hair dye mixture from the container is enabled by squeezing the container or by using a pump provided in the container in an alternative embodiment. A collector area defined in the main tinter body collects dye mixture wherefrom the dye mixture is distributed with the aid of a flow regulator and a plurality of radial exit bores which define, on their ends, funnel-like or shaped openings that open in tangent with a set of bristles connected to the tinter body. The flow regulator is suitably grooved so that the rate of dye mixture flowing through the main tinter body can be regulated from a minimum to a maximum amount by turning the flow regulator by 90 degrees. The flow regulator body is sealed to the main tinter body using a set of O-rings and the grooves defined in the regulator body are formed adjacent the plurality of radial exit bores so that the dye mixture flow can be controlled.
A TENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,535, Issued on Jul. 25, 2000, to Moore teaches a multi-purpose hair coloring tool that includes an elongated body and a plurality of bristles projecting from the body adjacent one end thereof. The bristles cooperatively define a serrated brush edge spaced from the body, with the brush edge being particularly effective in applying coloring agents to the hair. Adjacent the opposite end of the body is a hook which may be used for such techniques as cap highlighting or hair weaving.
AN ELEVENTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,449, Issued on Mar. 19, 2002, to Chu et al. teaches a dispensing device for use as a hair dye applicator having a manifold having a first end configured to receive liquid dye and an inside surface and an outside surface. The manifold has a conduit communicating with the inside surface and the first end which provides fluid communication between the first end and at least one orifice extending from the inside surface to the outside surface. The manifold further includes a first lip and a second lip on the outside surface with the first lip surrounding the orifice and the second lip surrounding the first lip. The manifold further includes a flexible fluid dispensing member having an inside surface and an outside surface and a plurality of apertures passing from the inside surface to the outside surface that presents the dye to the hair, the inside surface of the member contacting the outside surface of the manifold including the first and second lips such that a resilient seal is formed until the dye is forced through the orifices when the member allows the dye to pass over the first lip and through the plurality of apertures.
A TWELFTH EXAMPLE, U.S. Patent Office Publication No. 2005/0139224, Published on Jun. 30, 2005, to McNamara teaches a hair coloring tool that is particularly effective and efficient in performing foil highlighting and hair coloring. The hair coloring tool is used to separate and foil hair tufts and then apply hair coloring agents to the hair tufts. An advantageous embodiment of the hair coloring tool comprises an elongate body having a first end and a second end. The first end comprises a thin metal rod and the second end comprises a plurality of bristles attached to the second end of the body. The first end of the tool is used to perform foil highlighting and the second end of the tool is used to perform hair coloring. A gripping handle between the first end and the second end facilitates the rotation of the hair coloring tool as the user alternately uses each end of the hair coloring tool.
It is apparent now that numerous innovations for hair treatment devices have been provided in the prior art that are adequate for various purposes. Furthermore, even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, accordingly, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.